University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
at NCAA Championships
Cagnotto Finishes 11th on 1-Meter Board at NCAA Championships
3/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
March 16, 2006
ATHENS, Ga. - Competing in her first NCAA postseason, University of Houston freshman Tania Cagnotto scored 286.95 points to finish 11th on the 1-meter springboard during the first day of the 2006 NCAA Championships at Gabrielsen Natatorium inside the Ramsey Center on the UGA campus.
The Bolzano, Italy, earned 286.95 points for the Cougar team but did not qualify for the finals of that event.
Junior Anna Kiess, who finished as the NCAA national runner-up on the platform a year ago, scored 259.65 points to finish in 23rd place.
USC's Blythe Hartley scored 353.20 points in the finals to win the NCAA 1-meter national championship.
As a team, the Cougars stood in 26th place with six points. Arizona stood atop the team leaderboard with 161 points, while Auburn was second with 151 points. Host Georgia was in third place with 147 points.
Both divers will compete on the 3-meter springboard Friday. Preliminaries are scheduled to begin at noon (CST). The diving finals will be part of the evening schedule, which will start around 6 p.m. (CST), every day.
Kiess and Cagnotto are two of the 40 divers who are scheduled to compete on the 3-meter springboard on Friday.
All-session tickets can be bought for $55 with preliminary passes (good for one morning session) selling for $12 and finals passes (good for one evening session) selling for $16,
To order tickets, call the University of Georgia Ticket Office at 877-542-1231.
The Cougar duo earned their places at the nation's top collegiate meet with their performances at the NCAA Zone D meet. Cagnotto won both the 1- and 3-meter springboard events at the NCAA Zone D meet, while Kiess finished second on the 1-meter board and third on the 3-meter event.
Kiess, who is competing in her third consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships, was a steady performer for the Cougars throughout the 2005-06 regular season. The Berlin, Germany, native twice was named C-USA Diver of the Week and finished second on the platform at the Conference USA Women's Swimming and Diving Championship in late February.
She enters this weekend's meet as the defending NCAA national runner-up on the platform.
Cagnotto is in her first collegiate season but has established herself as one of the program's finest divers. The Bolzano, Italy, native swept all three diving events at the C-USA Championship, joining former Cougar and five-time NCAA individual national champion Yulia Pakhalina as the only divers to accomplish that feat.
She also was a seven-time C-USA Diver of the Week honoree, setting a new UH single-season record in that category.
Both divers who will be joined by diving head coach Jane Figueiredo, who is now in her 16th season at UH. She has guided 21 divers to the NCAA Championships during her career, including seven to 28 All-America honors.
Players Mentioned
